ProtonMail is an email service that prides itself on airtight security for its customers. The latest update (v3.14 for web and v1.9 for Android) adds full PGP support and address verification, both intended to further secure communications.

PGP support is a good thing to see, since it allows ProtonMail (which uses a PGP-based system for encryption) users to communicate with people on other services securely. Simply import your contacts' public keys (and get them to do the same for you) and you're ready to start sending encrypted emails. ProtonMail is also opening a public key server for users on other services to access your key in order to email you securely.

The highlight of this update is what ProtonMail calls address verification. It effectively negates man-in-the-middle attacks by confirming sender email address keys that you have previously trusted. Since each key is encrypted and digitally signed, ProtonMail claims that it makes it impossible for a nefarious third-party to inject itself into the conversation. It's important to note that this is only available between ProtonMail users; people on other products must rely on the newly-added PGP support.

Obviously, this stuff is mostly unimportant to casual users, but for those who require the utmost security for communications, both address verification and full PGP support are massively beneficial.

PRESS RELEASE

Source: ProtonMail